Quote: “I gotta tell you, it’s like the stars are aligning for us. It’s great having them. ... I wouldn’t take anybody out, I wouldn’t put anybody in. This is perfect. This is great.”

Editor’s Note: The MMA fighters who have come to be known as The Four Horsewomen — Ronda Rousey, Marina Shafir, Jessamyn Duke, and Shayna Baszler – have formed a rock-solid sisterhood. They challenge and encourage each other as they navigate their careers. This is Part One of a special project highlighting how their paths have merged: The Four Horsewomen.

Marina Shafir was clearly struggling.

Coming off an illness, the sparring session wasn’t going as planned. Ronda Rousey, Shayna Baszler and Jessamyn Duke stood side by side outside the ring, quietly analyzing the action.

THE FOUR HORSEWOMEN

From the ring apron, Edmond Tarverdyan’s criticism was well-founded but loud and direct.

“Marina, stop leaning back! Move forward!”

After four rounds, Shafir dejectedly removed her headgear and sat by herself.

“It was a hard day. I was really sick. And there are no excuses, I should have performed better,” said Shafir, the only one of the four not in the UFC because she fights at 145 pounds — the UFC has only 115- and 135-pound women’s divisions. “It’s a learning thing. That’s a lesson that’s already in my brain. Yeah, because I need time. I’m one of those people, if I’m pissed off about something, I need time to cool off and immediately think realism in my brain.

Weeks later, with a 5-0 amateur record, Shafir would be making her professional MMA debut April 12 at Chaos at the Casino 4 at Hollywood Park Casino in Inglewood.

Nearly two dozen fighters and their coaches rebuffed offers to challenge Shafir. A running joke at Glendale Fighting Club is featured on the board promoting upcoming fights: “Marina Shafir vs. Victim.”

In her corner were Rousey and Tarverdyan. No one had a bigger smile than Tarverdyan.

“These girls are tough. They have hard days in here. I tell them this is the way you gotta get up. They just do what I tell them,” he said. “They’re like machines. Mentally, they’re strong and they’re real focused. When they want to learn something, they put 100 percent energy and effort.”

Not far away in the crowd were Baszler and Duke. Only this time, they were far from quiet. Maybe there was some analysis, but it was mostly wholehearted support.

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Loud and direct.

“We’re not gonna give each other lip service. We’re not faking the funk for any of us,” Baszler said. “We’re pretty straightforward and I think that’s why it works so well between the four of us, is we don’t hold back from each other.

“We all like to deal with it differently. But we know each other enough. So yeah, you kinda saw it that day. When Marina’s down, you gotta let her be down for a bit. It’s not even anything conscious. We just know each other.”

And in the ring, Shafir celebrated with a group picture. Throwing up the fours.